


Pretty Prince

by alwaystiredneversleep



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura & Lance (Voltron) are Siblings, Alternate Universe - Renaissance, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Cute Lance (Voltron), F/M, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), How Do I Tag, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) Has a Crush, Korean Keith (Voltron), M/M, Minor Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Lance/Lotor (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Renaissance Faires, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, allura also works at the renn fest, but the festival not the time period, klance, lance wears makeup, lance works at the renn fest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:54:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24433888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaystiredneversleep/pseuds/alwaystiredneversleep
Summary: Keith is dragged to the Renaissance Festival by Pidge and Shiro and ends up meeting a pretty boy named Lance who works at the Festival as one of the Royals. After Keith manages to score the boy's number, they start to hang out outside of the festival, and Keith falls harder than he ever has.
Relationships: Allura & Lance & Lotor (Voltron), Allura & Lance (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Hunk & Keith (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance & Lotor (Voltron)
Comments: 48
Kudos: 121





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is the first fic I'm posting on here, so I hope you all enjoy it. In case you couldn't tell, I absolutely suck at summaries and at tagging things.

Keith was not prepared for the costume. He was also unprepared for Shiro and Pidge showing up to his house at 7 in the morning and unprepared for the endless stream of excited chatter between his two friends, but he was primarily unprepared for the scuffed silver armor in the back of Shiro’s trunk. 

Pidge was dressed as an earthen mage, her pale green cloak draped over her shoulders. She had dark pants tucked loosely into soft suede boots, and was wearing a deep brown t-shirt with a grey long sleeve underneath. Her hands were covered in fingerless leather gloves that she had stolen from Keith’s dresser, her nails painted a chipped grass green color. She had a ‘mages’ purse set at her side, and a hat the same color as her cloak was perched perilously atop her hair.

Shiro had large black wings that were pinned back so they folded against his spine, the realistic dark scales dotted with indigo and violet. A matching set of dark horns protruded from his forehead, surrounded by scales that Pidge had painted about an hour before they left the house.

Keith himself was dressed in the suit of armor that they had brought, and was still shocked by it. The cuirass was a light silver that had been dulled as if often in use, and he wore metal knee coverings stretched up to touch his thighs and clipped on over a pair of leather boots that had been previously shoved in the back of his closet. A long red cape stretched out behind him, and his hair was done in a short braid that reached a little past the base of his neck.  
He wore a black tank top underneath, his forearms covered by silver and red metal cuffs, shoulders adorned by matching epaulettes. He wore leggings underneath his leg armor. He had leather gloves that he hadn’t put on yet, and they sat on the car seat next to him. 

Overall, he was pretty happy with how it looked on him, but he was also a little uncomfortable at how tight on him it was. It clung to him tightly in a way that would be directly annoying if it wasn’t a perfect size. Pidge was amazing at picking costumes for the three of them, and she was nearly always the one to do it, so she had memorized their sizes for various items.

She also enjoyed barging into Keith’s house at ungodly hours in the morning and waking him up by shouting or bothering him in some other way. This was how this day had started, along with Keith’s grumbling and empty threats to take back the extra key he had given Pidge. Shiro had laughed but apologized and made coffee for Keith, who had grumbled further and done nothing but sit there until he had finished his second cup. 

Makeup had been done for Shiro and Pidge, and now they were sitting in Shiro’s car, waiting for the short line of vehicles to move. They had gotten there very early, so the parking lot was relatively empty, but there was still a line of cars being let in so they could park. Keith crossed his arms and looked out the window.

The Rennasaince Festival was something Shiro and Pidge went to every year, always dressing in extravagant and beautiful costumes. Keith went sometimes, but it wasn’t something he made extra time for. If he could go on the weekend his two friends went on, he went. If he couldn’t, he didn’t. 

It had never been a particular point of interest for Keith, although he nearly always enjoyed himself once he was there. The people dressed in strange and creative costumes, the food, and the games were all things Keith loved, but he usually got overwhelmed before long as there were often too many things to do.

Keith yawned, fiddling with the edge of his belt. His sword sat in the back with Pidge, who was alternating between being on her phone and complaining about Shiro’s wings, which were bent against the roof of the car and flopping in her face. 

The group finally pulled into the parking lot, finding a spot quickly and braking. They got out of the car, Pidge handing Keith his sword. He took it and strapped the scabbard to his belt, rubbing his eyes and sighing. “God, I’m tired. Did you have to wake me up early?”

“If we hadn’t, we’d miss the beginning and get stuck in worse traffic. So, yes, I did.” Pidge crossed her arms and shot a playful glare at Keith. “Anyways, it’s always fun to see your morning scowl. Really brightens up your eyes, y’know?” 

“Yeah, sure. Let’s just get in line,” Keith said with another loud sigh of disapproval.

“I’m going to go get the tickets, alright? Don’t tear each other apart or anything.” Shiro walked off and into line, and Pidge sat on a bench. Keith stood next to her and watched the people on stilts walk around, leaning down to talk to others or for the occasionally requested selfie. Some of them looked like clowns, while a few were dressed in humongous gowns that fell far down the stilts, makeup clear on their faces. 

Pidge pulled out her phone and began to text someone, Keith just watching as people streamed in, getting in line. Pidge was right. They had gotten here early and there were still many people, although the lines did move quickly. Some people were in simpler garments, some in full costume and suits of armor similar to Keith’s or dresses that showed considerably too much chest. Most people, to Keith’s disappointment, had not tried or barely tried to dress up at all, dressed in normal clothing.

The entrance was made to look like a castle, a large yellow wall with doors cut into it. At the top of the wall, there were tower-like tops and space where people could stand. Several staff members stood there, shouting things at the people below. Banners and shields hung from the wall, displaying various patterns. Royals and knights alike watched as people passed, occasionally shouting like the other more common-looking people.

Shiro walked back to the duo a minute later, holding up the tickets triumphantly. “Let’s go in.” Keith and Pidge stood, following Shiro into the small line of people who were filtering into the Festival.  
Shiro smiled up at the people on the wall, and one of the princesses shouted down “I see a mighty dragon approaches our grounds!”

The woman at the gates quickly dug through Pidge’s bag before handing them 3 maps and ushering them in with a “Welcome, milords.” 

Pidge drew herself up happily and giggled before relaxing and handing them the maps. “What do you guys want to do first?” 

“Food,” Shiro said as Keith shrugged awkwardly. His armor was light but it was still annoyingly in the way, and the epaulettes scraped softly against his neck when he moved his shoulders too far up. 

“Yeah, actually, that sounds good. A couple of Oreos are not gonna do it for breakfast.” Pidge gave Keith a pointed look, and he snorted indignantly.

“I wasn’t expecting to feed a ravenous small teen and some old man this morning. I apologize for my lack of acceptable food, my queen.” Keith snapped back, and Pidge rolled her eyes.

“I’m not old, and it’s okay, we did barge in on you.” Shiro placed a hand on Pidge’s shoulder and she sighed but relaxed slightly. “Anyways, where would you all like to eat?”

“Let’s find a steak-on-a-stake place! Those are always good!” Pidge grinned at Shiro, her frown dropping away immediately as she pushed her glasses up and put her hands on her hips. Keith nodded at Shiro, who started walking down the wide path. 

Pidge and Shiro keep up a conversation that Keith doesn’t bother listening to, instead choosing to watch the people and performers as they march around in their costumes. Vendors shout out to people passing their stores, small wooden buildings that are filled with everything from heavy pelts to intricate glass sculptures. The group walks around until Pidge points to a heavy wooden sign that reads ‘Steak-on-a-stake’. 

The line is short and it’s not long before they continue walking, Pidge wrapping the stake in hers tightly so the grease doesn’t touch her hands or Keith’s stolen gloves. “Hey, guys, there’s a show with the sword swallower named Johnny Fox in about 15 minutes. Let’s go to that,” Shiro says.

“A sword swallower? Is he cool?” Keith looks down at Pidge then back up at Shiro. 

“We’ve enjoyed him when we’ve seen him, yeah. He’s really funny, even though his humor is kinda childish.” Pidge grins happily and takes a bite of her steak. 

“Sure, then, let’s go to that.” 

\--

“That was… surprisingly funny.” Keith patted Pidge’s head and she shoved his hand away. “Good choice.” 

“Yep. He’s pretty awesome, and he’s got skills. We accidentally missed his shows on the weekend we came last year.” Shiro says and pulls out his map. “Where are we going now? I kind of want to do Thor’s Hammer.”

“I want to do the climbing wall,” Keith requested.

“I just want to wander, although there’s a dagger shop I also kinda want to check out later.” Pidge rubs her hands together excitedly.

Shiro looked down at his map, then looked back up and spoke. “Thor’s Hammer is down the hill and past the climbing wall, so let’s do that and then head to Thor’s hammer. After that, we can browse and let Pidge do her dagger shopping.” 

Keith shrugged and nodded. “Hell yeah, let’s go!” Pidge thrust her fist in the air.

“Language, Pidge.” Shiro sighed and walked in the direction of the hill. They quickly reached the top where the two huge polished wood slides led to the bottom of the hill.

“Let’s take the large slides! It’s only two bucks per person.” Pidge opened her purse and took out a ten-dollar bill, but Keith narrowed his eyes. 

“The line is long and I don’t really want to. You all can do it without me, I’m going down to the climbing wall and getting in line. Join me when you get down here.”

“Alright, sure, see you.” Pidge waved him off and dashed into line.

“We’ll either meet you in the line for the wall or we’ll watch you climb. Good luck.” Shiro patted Keith’s shoulder and went after Pidge.

Keith sighed and walked down the short hill, taking a few minutes to separate who was just the crowd of people wandering around and who was the actual line. He located it and began to wait, occasionally having to duck out of the way as people jostled by. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, finally making it into the last part of waiting.  
He stood by the hardest wall, watching as an older man in a pirate outfit slipped and fell back. The man cursed and let himself drop down to the ground where he was helped out of his harness and stormed off angrily.

Keith unclipped his cape and folded it, setting it down on the ground along with his boot covers. He then stepped up, brushing off the staff member at the bottom of the wall who tried to help him put on the harness. She sighed and stepped back, but still insisted on checking the knots once he was strapped in. 

The woman nodded at him after quickly checking if he knew all the rules and what to do, signaling that he could start. Keith stepped towards the wall and placed his hand on the first brick.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance wakes up much too early to get ready for the Faire. He gets there and meets (kinda) one Keith Kogane, who happens to be in the middle of climbing a wall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy!

The piercing beeping of Lance’s alarm drilled through his ears, waking him instantly. He jerked up into a sitting position, groaning softly as his head pounded gently. Lance often didn’t drink or sleep enough, so head and stomach aches were common for him, especially in the mornings. 

Lance rubbed his eyes with one hand and scrabbled around for his phone with the other. He felt the smooth surface vibrate under his fingers and picked it up, slamming his thumb down onto the stop button and breathing a sigh of relief. 

Allura walked into the room, already dressed in her leggings and t-shirt she wore on the way to the Festival. “You’re up. Good. We need to get going soon, it’s already 6.” 

Lance groaned. “Mierda, Allura, did you set my alarm even earlier?”

“Yes, I did, and it’s for your own good. Being late would be stupid, we’ve got a lot of makeup to do for both of us. So come on, out of bed.” She turned without another word and went back out into their kitchen/living room/dining room/front room. 

Lance pulled himself out of bed and rubbed his eyes again, then pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. He took a swig of the water beside his bed and went over to Allura and his shared dresser. Opening one of his drawers, he pulled out tight pants and a hoodie, then slid them on. His costume was in the back of one of the staff rooms, folded neatly so it didn’t wrinkle, so, for now, he could wear simpler clothes like this. 

Blue, Lance’s cat, wandered into the room and jumped up on his bed, curling up into a puddle of fluff on his pillow and purring softly as she slept. Lance smiled and walked back to his bed. He rubbed her ears, eliciting louder purrs, and walked out of the room. 

He went into the lavatory and used the bathroom, then washed his hands and brushed his teeth. He washed his face with his special facial wash, then moisturized his hands and stepped back out. Allura looked up from her phone as Lance walked into the room. “Ready to go?”

Lance scowled. Mornings were not his thing. “No, but I don’t really have a choice here, so let’s get going.”

“Perfect.” Allura held open the door as Lance pulled on his boots, the one part of his costume he had to bring from home. Lance could leave it at the fair, but he found it more manageable to wear them home and not have to bring an extra pair of shoes. He shuffled out of the door of their tiny apartment and yawned, sleep still heavy in his body. They arrived at the elevator and Allura pressed the down button. 

“Hey, ‘llura, what time ‘s it?”

“About 6:15-6:20 now. Why?”

“Just.. feels really early.”

Allura gave an exasperated sigh but smiled at Lance fondly. “This is why we don’t go to bed at 2 am, Lance.”

Lance crossed his arms. “Well, Hunk never gets here before 6:45, so I figured I had a little more time, you know.”

“Hunk isn’t driving us today,” Allura sighed. “Don’t freak out, please, but Lotor is taking us.”

“What?!” Lance yelped as the doors of the elevator slid open to reveal the lobby area of their apartment building. Lance stepped out of the enclosed room and turned to Allura, eyes throwing fireballs. “Why is he driving us?”

“Because Hunk is sick and not working today, and he’s my boyfriend, so even if you hold a stupid grudge for something idiotic he did while you two were 16.” 

“I was 16, he was 17, and it isn’t a stupid grudge! Also, he’s still a total asshole, and you’re biased as heck! It’s a stupid bias, too, your boyfriend over your brother.” 

“Well, maybe I would feel differently if one of you would actually explain whatever happened! But neither of you will, so we’re both going to have to deal with stuff that annoys us!” Allura glared at Lance for a moment before he looked away and grumbled an apology softly. The two fell silent as they walked to the small blue Prius that Lotor was leaning upon, staring at the tall white-haired boy with completely opposite expressions. 

“Hello, love.” Lotor purred at Allura before shooting a quick glare at Lance and walking around the car to the driver’s seat. 

“Hey, Lotor. Thank you for driving us,” Allura yawned. Lance walked to the back of the car and sat down, crossing his arms and glaring out the window at the pale blue-grey of the sky. 

“Anytime. I told you I’d be glad to be your full-time driver, but I understand why you refused.” Lotor looked at Lance again before rolling his eyes, earning a hiss of indignance from Lance. 

“Yes, well, from what I can tell it’s partially your fault, so don’t just blame Lance. Whatever happened to you two was not just on Lance, and not just on you.” Allura gave both of them pointed looks. 

It was nearly always like this with the three of them unless they were in the middle of their roles at the Faire or most social events. Lance and Lotor never spoke about what happened, mostly because it was painful for both of them and both of them thought the other was at blame. 

Allura got tired of their bothersome antics quickly, so she usually saw to it that when she was with one of the boys, the other was nowhere nearby. It was awkward for her, one being her boyfriend and one being her brother, but she dealt with it admirably well. However, she couldn’t always avoid their interaction, so difficult instances like this would occur.  
Lance leaned his head against the window and shut his eyes, feeling the cool press of the glass against his cheek as exhaustion began to overtake him once more. 

\--

What felt like seconds later Lance was being poked until he opened his eyes to see Allura standing over him, one hand on her hip. “Up, come on. You shouldn’t have fallen asleep.”

Lance groaned but shook out his shoulders and stepped out of the car, adjusting his hoodie once he stood there. “Time?”

“Around 6:45 now. Plenty of time for makeup and getting dressed and prep.” Allura said cheerily, turning away from Lance and towards the Faire grounds. Lotor was already several yards ahead, stiff leather boots kicking up dust as he approached the buildings. 

One of Lotor’s newer friends who worked the gates pulled open one of the staff doors to let them in, giving a small wave to Lotor, who nodded in return. The trio walked through the doors and continued on to the staff buildings where their costumes waited. 

\--

Lance was bored. The festival had only started a little while ago, and there weren’t enough people looking amazed at his attire to be willing to deal with the uncomfortable clothes he had on. He loved the makeup, was used to it, but he was never ready to almost trip over the most irritating cape all day long.

The clothes and makeup combined looked marvelous, of course. He had a long blue cape on, the hood down. It was sitting on top of a loose, low necked, bell-sleeved shirt. The design was a pattern of blue, gold, and black, simple but ‘princely’, as Allura liked to call it. Tight pants made from light (but endlessly itchy) black material covered Lance’s legs, a belt perched across his petite waist with a sword, and various pouches handing from it. He had on elf ears made from leather that matched his skin tone near perfectly. 

The makeup, however, was and would always be Lance’s favorite part. He was supposed to look like an elven prince, so Shay, the makeup artist, always went just a bit overboard. His blush, a soft blue color, went from across both cheeks to right under the gem in the golden circlet he wore. There was a little under his lip and in the dips of his neck as well, accenting them. The prominent blue was dotted with little spots of white, making his cheeks look like a starry sky. He had white over his upper lip as well, giving an interestingly pleasing effect. His eyelashes were darkened and his eyebrows drawn out a bit neater, and he wore a colorless gloss that made his lips shine ever so slightly.

Lance knew he was already moderately attractive, that was nothing unusual for him. But he also knew that he wouldn’t really be distinctive in a room of people if he were standing there. He was nothing special. But with the makeup, his features were defined, and people really looked at him. A little while after he had worn it for the first time in the Faire, it had been something he started to wear regularly out of the Faire. Never anything as extravagant as his ‘elf prince’ makeup, but small things. A little lipstick, or a touch of eyeshadow.

The makeup gave him a kind of power he was completely unused to having, and a kind of confidence he almost never managed to achieve without friends or some kind of crutch to lean on. And he loved it, he loved that strength. 

The corners of Lance’s lips twitched upwards as a little girl he walked past stared up at him. Allura walked before Lance in the group of ‘Royals’, holding Lotor’s hand and talking quietly. Unless they were in the middle of a performance, the most talking they were supposed to do was small stuff to hype up some of the fans of the Faire.

Lance sighed, glaring at the back of Lotor’s head. Both of them had a silent agreement to never talk about what had gone down between them because it had been painful and confusing and both were distinctly inebriated and didn’t really have all of the details straight. Lotor had never been a particularly good boyfriend, but Lance really did love him. That week hadn’t been good for them, either. There had been several stupid arguments that were much worse than they should have been.

The Royals walked into the courtyard where the climbing wall stood tall, small children scrambling up the kid’s side quickly. The stuffed dragons attached to the bells they had to ring slumped emptily, resigned to sitting there and being smacked about all day. One of the footmen at the front of the party of the Royals announced their presences, calling the names and titles of the 5 people in this group. 

Lance zoned out as the long list of titles were given for each member of the ‘Royal family’, staring around at the lines and crowds of people streaming past, giving no attention to the walls and the people on them. Allura elbowed him and hissed something under her breath. “Lance!”

“What?” He whispered back.

“Evil wall, look.”

Lance raised an eyebrow but directed his gaze towards the most difficult wall, expecting to see another adult man who thought he could make it all the way up the wall and get the coupons and flask that were a reward. Instead, there was a sweaty, decidedly very hot boy with a - Lance almost laughed - mullet. Lance schooled his features into a blank stare, but he knew exactly why Allura had told him to look. The guy’s muscles were flexing clearly as he scaled the wall.

It was clearly slow going, but the guy was making good progress and seemed to know what he was doing, reaching for the handholds Lance knew would get him up to the top. 

Lance himself had never actually climbed the wall, but he had watched hundreds (thousands? He wasn’t sure.) of people attempt to ascend it, and he had picked up an eye for where you should be placing what limbs while climbing. 

The dude paused for a quick moment and wiped his forehead with the back of one of his hands, looking back at the crowd of people and directly down at the Royals. His eyes turned to Lance and his hand slipped as he went to place it back down on the small handhold he had been clinging to before he had wiped his forehead. The boy’s mouth was open slightly and he was staring straight at Lance, his exercise-flushed face darkening red. 

Lance blinked at him and the boy shook his head slightly, turning away from Lance and the crowd and looking back towards the wall, once again beginning to climb.

Another perk to the makeup, it seemed, was that hot boys almost fell off walls while staring at you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments make me very happy and give me the motivation to continue, so if you enjoy it, please say so. Thank you!  
> Also, just so you all know, I do not agree with Lance, I think he is pretty boy and is exquisite and unique. These are how he thinks others see him. sorta.  
> Word count: 2126


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group wins some stuff, Keith has a crisis, and Pidge might stab someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this is a bit of a filler! Please don't read and run, and enjoy!!

Keith cursed silently as he scrabbled to regain his hold on the rough plastic of the tiny handhold. Who the fuck was that boy? He was gorgeous, and he had been staring right at Keith as Keith had slipped. 

Why did Keith have to mess up things only while pretty people watched? He let out a soft groan and reached for the next hold, grabbing it tightly and pulling himself up farther.

Keith was pretty sure the boy was one of the groups of Royals that had been wandering the Festival, but Keith hadn’t been listening to the short dude who was introducing the small group to the crowd. 

A small cheer goes up through the crowd as he pulls himself up farther, completely stabilized after his near-fall. Keith released a small breath, trying to make sure he didn’t speed up or freak out. That would be stupid and would’ve meant he wasted money on this. Besides, pretty boy was watching. 

Keith looks up again, allowing himself a tiny grin when he sees how close he is to the top. He has this in the bag, and he knows it. He moves a little quicker, feet landing steadily on the holds his hands were on minutes before. He has to stretch to reach most of the handholds, but it works, and he finally makes it to the top.

Turning his head to look back at the crowd for a minute, Keith smirks. A second later he looks back at the wall and pulls the small rope, setting the bell at the top ringing. Cheers echo up from the crowd as it dings loudly, screeching in Keith’s ears.

He gives the signal to his belayer, who nods and lowers him carefully as he pushes off the wall. The woman takes his wrist and holds his arm up, and another roar rises from the mess of people around him. 

“What’s your name, good sir?” The belayer says, clearly bored with what she was doing.

“Uh, Keith.” Keith raises an eyebrow, and the woman shrugs.

“Lads and lasses, Sir Keith! We shall now grant him his rewards!” The woman shouts to the people, who cheer considerably less than before. 

“Prince Lance of the Fae Court will present the rewards to our good knight, Sir Keith.” Keith’s eyes narrowed. Who was Prince Lance?

Keith scanned the crowd, trying to see who would step forward when one of the ‘commoner’ staff handed the pretty boy a mug with something stuffed inside. Was the pretty boy Prince Lance? Oh, shit. Keith thought internally. How was he going to survive having the gorgeous boy standing right there without having some kind of internal or external panic?

The boy - Lance - stepped forward gracefully, his movements languid and smooth as he moved towards Keith. “Congratulations, Sir Keith.” Lance purred with a wink.

Keith nearly choked on his own spit, barely managing to keep his features indifferent. Holy crow. What did he do? Knight’s bowed, right? No, they knelt. Keith was dressed as a knight, but would it be overboard to kneel at Lance’s feet? He opted against it, instead choosing to give a tiny bow. 

Lance let out a tiny giggle that made the world brighter, and a dopey little smile spread across Keith’s lips. Keith mentally cursed. Other than the red in his face, which could be blamed on exercise, he had been staying so calm. But Lance was adorable, and both of them knew it. 

“Here is your prize, Sir,” Lance said, handing the carved mug to Keith and pressing a kiss to his cheek before turning quickly, the soft blue cloak brushing Keith’s legs as it swirled after Lance.

Keith contained a squeak, but he knew his face was bright red, and he knew Pidge would definitely be getting on his back about this. The last few claps rang around before the group began to watch the other walls or move on to someplace else. Keith grabbed his cape and clipped his boot covers back on, sighing as the excess weight settled onto his feet. 

Keith slowly made his way back to where Shiro and Pidge stood, Shiro grinning and Pidge laughing quietly. Pidge went straight to the point. “Did you actually have a gay panic moment while on the wall?” Shiro restrained a laugh, but Keith could see the smile he bit back. 

“Ugh, yes. But did you see Lance? I had a good reason!” He groaned loudly. “He was so fu- uh, I mean, freaking gorgeous!” Shiro pursed his lips and crossed his arms at the almost cursing, but it turned into a smile quickly.

“He was pretty, I’ll give you that,” Shiro said, then chuckled. 

“Your head looked like to was going to explode when he kissed your cheek!” Pidge laughed again, but it wasn’t cruel, no matter how pointed her words are. Keith knew she sounded mean, but he also knew she almost never meant to be. Pidge’s form of being friendly often came in sarcasm and teasing.

“Shut up, he’s pretty and he literally kissed my cheek with no prompting! How was I supposed to respond?” Keith unfolded his cape and clipped it back to his epaulettes, the red fringe on the bottom brushing the back of his calves, deliberately looking anywhere but back towards where Lance was walking or towards his friends, who he knew would have annoyingly teasing looks on their faces.

“Well, I know I wouldn’t respond like that,” Pidge said, smirking. 

“You’re not into dudes, asshole!” Keith growled.

“I’m not into anyone,” Pidge giggled, at the same time Shiro looked up from the map he had been examining and said “Language.”

“Exactly! So you don’t know how - crap, I don’t even have a word for it! But seriously.” Keith rambled, and Pidge rolled her eyes. 

“You’re a mess, you know.” 

Keith sighed. “Yeah, I do know.”

“We are going the wrong way!” Shiro declared suddenly, looking up again. Keith sighed again, loudly, and Pidge groaned softly.

\--

Keith was bored. He hadn’t seen a glimpse of Lance in over an hour, and he hadn’t found any more items or food or such he wanted to buy. So far, he’d bought a polished wooden sword and a frozen banana covered in chocolate (which he did not expect to enjoy as much as he did) using two out of three of the coupons in the wooden mug. 

Pidge had graciously offered to take the third coupon, one for a specific clothing shop where she bought most of her costumes. Keith had shrugged and given it to her, earning an excited noise that she quickly tried to clamp down on. 

They had long since gone to Thor’s Hammer, where Shiro had hit the thing with the hammer really hard and it had hit the bell. (Keith didn’t really understand how it worked, and when he voiced his confusion he was met by a long tangent from Pidge that he tuned out of nearly immediately.) Shiro had won drinking tickets which he wasn’t going to use, as well as bragging rights, which he was.

Pidge had gotten herself a tiny gleaming dagger with a black hilt studded with green gems, and she occasionally took it out of its small sheath just to stare at it lovingly. Keith was worried about her mental health and everyone else’s physical health, including his own. He had taken to walking on the other side of Shiro. 

“Shiro, where are we going?” Pidge said, patting the bag at her hip softly.

“We’re just wandering for now. Unless there’s a specific place either of you want to go or some kind of food you all want to get, I figure we could just look around. There’s jousting in about half an hour that I was slowly steering us towards.” 

“Can we get another frozen banana?” Pidge requested.

“None of us should eat two of those in one day. Also, I have to use the bathroom.” Keith crossed his arms.

“It’s a day to be unhealthy and do stupid splurge-y things, Keith, come on.” Pidge shook her head and placed a hand on her hip unhappily. Keith looked to Shiro for backup.

“I agree with Pidge, actually. This is one of the days I let myself do stuff like this, you should too.” Keith scowled at Shiro’s words but shrugged.

“Whatever.”

“Pidge and I will get the banana’s, you can go use the bathroom and we’ll have yours when you get back.” Shiro reasoned, and Keith nodded reluctantly, walking away from the duo towards the ‘privies’ as the festival called them.

Keith walked briskly, trying not to glare at everything around him. He wanted a chance to talk Lance, maybe even ask him out, but he had come to the conclusion that that wasn’t going to happen. It was pissing him off, making him grumpier than usual. 

Keith didn’t see the person in front of him until they slammed together, the other falling to the ground as Keith steadied himself. “Ah, shit - sorry, you okay?” Keith looked down at the person, eyes widening. 

Who else would he run into on this kind of day?


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a filler again. Also, guys, I am so so so so sorry!!! This is a very fluffy story for me, so it's a little harder to write fluff when I'm not as happy, sorry! :(
> 
> Keith has a meeting with someone from his past, Pidge eats things weirdly, and Lance freaks out a bit.

“Hello, Keith.” Haggar purred, smirking at the boy standing over her. Keith quickly pulled his offered hand back, glaring at the older woman as she stood up. 

“What are you doing here?” Keith spat, glaring.

“Can’t a woman watch her son perform?”

“Why would you want to?” 

“I’m offended, truly. I happen to have human emotions as well,” Haggar crossed her arms and pursed her lips as if actually angry at Keith, but his harsh stare didn’t waver despite the negative memories pulling at him. 

“Do you really? Anyways, I have to go.” Keith crossed his arms as well, one thumb sliding back and forth over the sun-heated metal of his cuirass. 

“So soon?” Haggar frowned, her foot tapping lightly and sending ripples up the long purple robe she’s wearing. She’s wearing the hood down, but Keith could see her eyes, which glittered maliciously as she stared at Keith.

“Yes. I don’t want to speak to you. Leave me alone.” The memories snagged at the edges of his rational thoughts as Haggar watched him closely, corners of her mouth turned up in a twisted smirk.

“It’s been 4 years, Keith, I just want to talk!” 

“And I don’t. Also, 5.”

“What?” Her eyes narrowed in confusion and her foot stopped tapping.

“5 years. Not 4.”

“Right, of course. My sincerest apologies.” 

Keith’s lip curled. “Gods, I hate you. Goodbye, Haggar.” Keith turned away from her and started to walk away angrily.

“Goodbye, Little Red.” A tiny shiver sounded up Keith’s spine as the older woman chuckled, watching him go silently. 

He hated that nickname. He hated her. He hated all of this, he hated that she has any kind of effect on him, he hated - 

Keith let out a low groan and rubbed his hands against each other softly. He swallowed hard, breathing through his nose slowly and gripping his hands together. Still pissed but considerably calmer, he stalked back towards where he’s joining Shiro and Pidge.

The walk takes too long, and he keeps having to dodge through groups of people so he doesn’t run into any of them. Dodging and weaving nimbly through crowds is not easy in armor. 

Sitting on a bench under the tree that marks their meeting spot, Keith unclasped his hands and flexed his fingers. He made a fist then stretched his fingers out, cracked his knuckles, and flexed again. 

“Keith!” At Shiro’s voice, Keith’s head whipped up. Grinning down at him are Shiro and Pidge, one holding a half-eaten banana with chocolate shreds left behind - Keith grimaces - and the other holding two bananas, one of which is handed to Keith. Keith took it from Shiro, who immediately took a bite from his own. 

“Sorry we took a bit, we got a little turned around.” 

“Shiro insisted we sit at the wrong tree for like 10 minutes before he realized we were in the wrong place,” Pidge smirked at the taller man.

“Look, the Faire is confusing. We all know that. Also, I don’t think it was 10 minutes.” Shiro defended, taking another bite of his banana.

The group sat in silence for a minute, eating their bananas. Keith watched Pidge the entire time before she finally sighed. “What’s wrong with you, emo? Why are you staring?”

“What is the point of a frozen chocolate-covered banana if you literally just eat the chocolate and the banana separately? It’s just a banana if you eat the chocolate without the real banana.” Keith sighed, gesturing with one hand at the mostly-eaten banana Pidge was holding. 

“I wanted the chocolate and the banana. It’s good, and I don’t like the complete covering of the chocolate over the banana.” She said, shrugging.

“Yeah, but… ugh. Shouldn’t you just have gotten another topping, then? Like chocolate drizzle or something?”

“Why would I?”

“Because - ugh! If you’re not actually eating the banana with the chocolate, there’s no point in getting the entire thing covered in chocolate! Just get another dessert, or something, I don’t know!” Keith hissed. Pidge smirked, taking another bite from her banana and finishing it before looking up at Keith and speaking.

“That’d cost more, it’d be stupid.”

“I thought you said today was a day for doing ‘stupid splurge-y things!!’” 

“I did say that, didn’t I?”

Keith groaned, throwing his hands up and almost dropping his banana. “Shiro, back me up here!”

“Um, right, yeah,” Shiro said distractedly, not looking at them. 

“You okay, man?” Pidge frowned.

Shiro sighed, turning to them with eyes narrowed. “I think I saw Haggar.”

Keith growled softly, curling one hand into a fist. “You did. Probably, anyways. She’s here.”

“What?! Since when?!” Pidge’s eyes widened. 

“I saw her while walking back.” Keith crossed his arms and looked away.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Shiro’s lips were pressed into a tight line and he grasped the stick on which his banana was speared tightly. 

Keith shrugged, feeling a bit defensive. “Dunno.”

“Did she do anything?”

“No, she didn’t can we just leave it? Please? I don’t want to talk about this, or her right now.” Keith looked back at Shiro, who sighed. 

“Yes, but next time something like this happens, please tell me.” Keith just shrugged again, avoiding Shiro’s eyes. 

\--

“His cheek, Allura! I kissed his fucking cheek! What kind of stupid decision was that?!” Lance groaned loudly, placing his head in his hands. Allura laughed lightly and patted his shoulder. 

The Faire was long over, and Allura and Lance sat together back in their apartment, Blue purring happily in Lance’s lap as he had a mini freak out. Both of the human people had on face masks and they were watching Worst Cooks In America while Lance stressed over the events of the day.

“It wasn’t stupid, Lance. Besides, you’re hot and he definitely knew that. It’ll be fine. Also, it’s likely you won’t see him again, so… even if it was awkward or he didn’t like it, it’s fine.” Allura patted his shoulder once more before she took a pillow and shoved it behind her back, wriggling a bit to get herself comfortable. 

“Right. Yeah. What do I do if I do see him again, though?” Lance clapped his palms together, looking up again and back at their small TV. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be the master flirt here?” 

Lance shoved Allura gently. “Ugh.” He grimaced at one of the foods on the TV before sighing, fingers absentmindedly tapping on his leg. “These people are really bad at baking.”

“We are literally watching a show called Worst Cooks In America. What did you expect?” Allura said. Lance stuck his tongue out, and she giggled. 

“Whatever. It’s time to wash off the face mask.” 

“Mhm,” Allura stood up, pulling Lance up by the hand. Lance struggled against it for a moment, but his sister was much stronger and he had nothing to hold onto except the smooth cushions of the couch. “You’re the one who said it’s time to go, get up!” 

“Yeah, but I don’t want to stand up.” Lance pouted, but rose and walked towards the bathroom anyways. 

“Of course you don’t,” Allura scoffed, but there was no real malice behind her voice. The two siblings wandered into the bathroom, giggling at Bobby Flay’s sigh of annoyance at someone’s failed dish. 

Lance washed away his own mask before helping Allura with hers. He gave his face a quick runover with water before sighing and yawning simultaneously and creating a strange noise that made Allura laugh. 

“Alright, come on, we need to get rest. We have work again tomorrow, and you didn’t get enough sleep last night.” Allura wiped off her face once more and grabbed her toothbrush, spreading toothpaste along the bristles.

“I got plenty of sleep! Or, at least, I would’ve, but you made me get up way earlier!” Lance said defensively, reaching around Allura to take his own toothbrush. He stared into the mirror as he brushed his teeth, hair falling over his forehead in still-wet stringy strands. He ran one hand through it before spitting in the sink and turning on the water to rinse his toothbrush and the bowl.

Was that guy - Keith, he remembered faintly - thinking about the kiss as much as he was? It was just on the cheek, but still. Keith had almost fallen off a wall when he saw Lance, surely that had to mean something. Lance groaned softly, and Allura frowned. “Are you alright, Lance?”

“Fine. Just… thinking about Keith. The knight dude.” Lance spoke awkwardly, placing his toothbrush back in its holder.

“Yes, I know who Keith is. You’ve only been freaking out over him for the past 4 hours.” Lance gave a mock offended gasp and Allura grinned. “But really, Lance, he either sees you again and he interacts positively or he doesn’t see you again.”

“What if he sees me again and reacts negatively?” Lance fretted.

“Dude. He looked like a tomato, and he almost fell off a wall, both while looking at you. He either thinks you’re hot or is way too socially awkward and gets embarrassed too easily to try and talk to you or confront you.”

“Right. Yeah. Of course.” Lance walked out of the room, Allura sighing as she followed him. 

“Come on. Get some rest. It’ll be better in the morning, alright?” She patted Lance’s back, and he gave her a weak smile before settling into his bed, letting the soft blankets and sheets swallow him.


	5. five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith mopes and then does not, Lance freaks out, and Allura is a supportive helpful sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Updating (mostly) on time? Shocking.

Keith was moping. That’s what Shiro said, at least, despite Keith’s protests that he did not mope, and he would not mope. Keith Kogane did not mope, especially not over pretty boys with gorgeous ocean colored eyes who kissed his cheek with no prompting.

Keith had returned to the Faire on Sunday, but he had only seen Lance once, and Lance hadn’t looked at him at all. He didn’t think Lance had even seen him, which was depressing and annoying and he hated it.

Keith hadn’t gotten a single chance to talk to him after their first meeting, which equated to not a single chance to ask for Lance’s number, or email, or something he could use to contact the fucking dreamboat of a boy who had decided to walk in and stomp on Keith’s life.

It was Tuesday now, and Keith was walking out of the gym and towards the grocery store. This was a grocery store he didn’t actually know had existed before, but it was right by his gym and was perfect, despite his reservations about going into a public place in a sweaty tank top with a tiny ponytail at the base of his neck.

He could take his bike since he was only getting ramen and some chips, which he was happy about because he had no desire to carry groceries several long blocks to his apartment. 

Keith loved his bike. Of course, it was actually a motorcycle. A motorcycle named Red, who was painted a deep scarlet and was Keith’s most prized possession. It was probably the one thing he owned that he always kept in perfect condition, spending large amounts of his savings to make sure nothing was wrong with it.

The feeling of being on the bike, the wind whistling under his helmet and into his hair erased any discomfort he might feel, and the thrill of the speed deep in his stomach made him feel as if he were high for hours after. 

He’d only ever let one other person on his bike, and it had been Shiro, who was his older brother and his best friend. Keith loved Shiro wholeheartedly, and though he had only said it a few times - emotions were hard for him - Shiro knew. That was part of the reason Keith loved him, Shiro just understood like most people didn’t. 

Keith wondered if Lance would understand, then groaned at himself for wondering that. Of course, he could no longer stop thinking about Lance sitting on the bike behind him, arms wrapped around Keith’s chest, and letting out that heavenly little giggle. The thought made his face hot, and he took a deep breath to clear his mind.

Some employee opened the door for Keith as he walked inside the store, still somewhat spaced out. The employee looked bored but enthusiastic, a heavyset man with a kind face and dark hair. “Welcome, please enjoy your shopping.”

Keith gave a nod and kept walking, wandering down aisles until he found the ramen. He grinned and grabbed several packets, then moved on to find the chips and snacks aisle. 

He located it quickly, grabbed the kind he wanted, and made his way towards the front. He wanted to leave so he could go back home and sit on his couch and be lazy. 

Keith stood in line to pay, arms crossed, and sighing. He was thoroughly tired and sweaty, but all the feelings dissipated quickly when he saw who sat at the register, lazily checking people’s items with a grin.

Lance.

Lance was here. In this store. Where Keith also happened to be. 

Keith was going to talk to Lance. He had a chance, he could ask Lance out, or for his number or something.

Elation rose in his chest, instantly followed by a nervous thrum. Fuck. He smelled like sweat, he was wearing a gross tank top and sweats, and he hadn’t brushed his teeth yet today. He mentally groaned at his own unhygienic habits. Whatever, it didn’t matter, he had to try. 

Keith waited, arms still crossed, watching the people in front of him as they bought their things and left until he walked up and stood in front of the counter.

“Heya, hottie, what’re you getting tod- Keith?” Lance paused with a stutter at realizing who it is, and a tiny thrill goes through Keith at the fact that Lance remembered his name. Keith must’ve taken too long to answer because Lance rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and spoke again. “Um, s-sorry, that’s your name, right?”

“Ah, shit, yeah. That’s me. Lance?” Keith grinned at him, and a soft blush spread over Lance’s cheeks as he nodded. Keith cheered internally, and Lance picked up the objects Keith had set on the counter to check them out. 

“Right,” Lance said, putting the ramen and the chips in a bag and taking Keith’s debit card from the counter. “Anything - um, anything else you want today?”

An idea ran through Keith’s head at Lance’s words, and it pops out of his mouth before he can think that this might be a very very stupid plan. “Yeah, actually. Could I get your number?”

A small gasp echoes from Lance, but it’s quickly stifled, and Lance smirks at Keith. “Absolutely. Hold on, babe.” Lance takes out his phone and opens a new contact before handing it to Keith, who’ smiles and puts in his number. Internally, Keith is shrieking and barely keeping it together. ‘Babe?’

Lance called him fucking babe. He might actually fall over. He has to be bright red right now, and he’s surprised he hasn’t stuttered. Gods, he had just - he asked Lance for his number. Lance had said yes.

Lance had said yes.

Keith handed the phone back to Lance, who grinned harder and handed Keith’s debit card back in return. “I’ll text you later, but I should probably get back to work.”

Keith gave a last nod and walked past Lance, grabbing his stuff from the counter and exiting the shop quickly. He made it out of the shop before he broke into a run, sprinting as fast as he could for the last few blocks until he got to Red, panting slightly. 

Keith clipped the bag of ramen and chips to his belt before sitting on the bike and tucking them in front of him. He slipped on his helmet, rushing a bit but considerably slower than his way back here. He revs Red’s engine and starts to drive, moving out of the parking spot and back out onto the street. 

The cool wind floods over his heavily flushed face, from both exertion from the running and the embarrassment of what he had just done. Would Lance even message him? Gods, he loved the thought of texting Lance every day, saying something funny to cause that gorgeous little giggle.

Fuck. Keith groaned low, knowing he was being stupid. He had given his number to a Lance, a person he knew next to nothing about. Lance could be a creepy serial killer or a snobby bitch, and he wouldn’t know.

But, a voice whispered in the back of Keith’s head, he could learn about Lance. Because Lance was going to text him. They were going to text. Keith could have his number saved, he could text whenever he wanted to. The thought made him happy, a tiny but distinct curl of euphoria rising in his chest.   
Shaking his head, he let the thoughts slide away as he sped up, weaving between cars and letting go of complicated distracting emotions for the pleasurable feeling of riding Red.

\--

As soon as Lance got off of his shift, he took out his phone and called Allura.

She picked up quickly, knowing that he hated phone calls and rarely took the time to call her unless it was something important or essential. 

“Allura I saw him again he was at the store and he asked for my number and I have his now and I said I would text him and I called him babe and oh my gods he was sweaty and I think he was out for a run or at the gym or something and it was so hot and oh my fucking gods -”

“Woah! Woah, Lance, calm down. Explain slowly, please.” Allura spoke calmly, and it grounded Lance. He sighed slowly, breathing in and out a few times before he started again. 

“So, I was just kind of working regularly, and then Keith - yes, knight boy - walks in with an armful of ramen and chips, and he walked up and it was awkward for a minute and then I asked if he wanted anything else and he said my number so he actually gave me his number, so I have that now, and I called him babe and now I have his number and I’m probably supposed to message him but I don’t know what to say and also he was super sweaty and he had this really small ponytail and it was so fucking hot and he was in a tank top and Jesus Christ he had muscles but I also kind of know like nothing about his personality but I have his number and I want to text him but I’m worried about the actual safety part of doing that? But anyway, I am possibly freaking out a bit.”  
Allura, on the other end, sighed and gave a soft chuckle. “Alright, Lance, you don’t have to walk home today. I can come to pick you up and we can get hot cocoa and talk about this, alright? I’ll help you figure this out.”

“That sounds, um-” Lance breathed in and out again, trying to avoid further raving. “Really good. It sounds really good. I’ll wait here.”

“M’kay. Bye, Lance, I’ll be there soon.” Allura hung up with a soft click, and Lance sat back on the bench outside the shop as he waited for his sister to arrive.

\--

At the end of the evening, the two had come up with a stupidly simple text message that Lance liked anyways. He sent it to Keith and put his phone down, choosing to sleep early for once. 

Lance Mcclain to Keith Kogane at 10:56 pm:

Heya, it’s Lance :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, finally. The idiot gay babies exchange numbers.  
> Please don't read and run, comments and kudos keep me motivated!  
> I hope you enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith makes a (happy) mistake, the boys are awkward and pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack!! I'm so sorry!!! I finished this, like, 10 minutes ago. I am not being consistent with my updates, I apologize. Anyways, I hope you like the awkward gay children.  
> Also, my dialogue is so choppy, ugh. I don't write dialogue enough, sorry.

Keith seemed to have forgotten how to breathe. He woke up at 10 am as his alarm rang into his ear from his bedside table, shocking him out of a dream he immediately forgot. 

He crawled out from under the stifling blankets and picked up his small phone, pressing the ‘stop’ button to shut the screaming bells up. 

Scrolling through his notifications, he came to a stop at a text from an unknown number. He opened it and gave a surprised gasp, eyes widening and nearly dropping the phone.

Lance. Lance had messaged him.

Fuck, he had to respond? How did he respond to that? Shitshitshitshitshit.

Keith opened his messages with Shiro and Pidge, disregarding whatever stupid cat meme Shiro had sent them earlier that morning. Keith sent a screenshot of Lance’s message to Shiro and Pidge, asking what he should say before standing up and going to make himself breakfast.

As he was making the ramen Pidge messaged back, saying he should tell Lance he wanted to slam him against a wall and do him hard. 

Keith almost dropped his phone in the boiling water as he sputtered before groaning and saying he would probably never be able to say that and asking for real suggestions.

Shiro dropped in a couple minutes later, advising Keith to just say good morning and ask how he was. Talk for a bit before asking him out, if he still wanted to.

Keith responded, saying thanks, then moved back to Lance’s contact, staring at it. 

He shut it again, going back over to the stove and making his ramen before walking to his couch and smiling a bit as he crossed his legs and leaned back against the plush back, posture relaxing into its usual horrible slump. Keith pulled up Lance’s contact once more, staring at the text Lance had sent the previous night. 

His fingers wouldn’t move.

Why wouldn’t they move?

Keith sighed, rubbing one eye with the heel of his hand as he stared at the screen. He stared for another little while before making a split-second decision and hit the ‘call’ button.

Immediately, he regretted the choice, but he didn’t hang up. He stared at the phone and let it ring, waiting for the inevitable harsh beep that would come at the end of the call.

Instead, there was the clicking of the phone being picked up and Lance’s tired voice came over the phone, slightly slurred. “Mm, hey, Keith.”

Keith panicked for a moment before yelping the words “Good morning!” out awkwardly. A giggle came from the other end, and Keith relaxed a bit, sinking further into the couch he sat on, ramen sat in his lap. 

“So, why’d you call?” There was a laugh from Lance’s side that came from someone who was definitely not him, and Keith’s heart clenched nervously. Who else was listening to his bumblings as he attempted to make his way through a conversation with a pretty boy who he seemed to mess up around a lot? 

Keith pauses for another moment, unsure of how to respond. Eventually, he decides the truth is the best way to go, even if internally he’s screeching unintelligibly. “Because I couldn’t text.”

“Oh. Hm.” Lance doesn’t question it, instead moving away from the topic quickly, and Keith gives a silent sigh of relief. “Anyways, how are you?”

“Bit sore,” 

“Huh? Sore?” 

“From my workout yesterday. It’s why I was so sweaty when I came into the shop.” Lance gave a soft ‘oh’, and on the other side, a grin stretched across his face before he let out a loud laugh.

“I thought - ha - I thought you meant because of sex or something for a minute,” Lance said, still cackling. Keith’s face heated quickly, but he chuckled as well.

“Yea, no, haven’t done that in a while.” Keith rubbed the back of his neck, cursing when he almost dropped his ramen as his legs shifted. Lance made a questioning noise and Keith muttered something quickly about spilling food.

“Oh, haha,” Lance said a bit awkwardly. “Um, Keith…”

Keith waited as the long pause set in, and Lance cleared his throat, clearly nervous. The Korean boy narrowed his eyes, waiting for whatever Lance was going to say quietly.

“Would you maybe -” Lance coughed, hesitating again. “Would you want to go on a date later tonight?”

The soft flush on Keith’s cheeks darkened harshly, and he let out a sharp breath. “Uhm, yea!” He said, groaning softly at how quick he responded. “What time and where?”

“D’you know the park by the shop?” Lance nervously scratched the back of his neck.

“Yep. What time?”

“Like, 7:30? I get off w-work at about 7, so, uh, yeah?” Lance was stuttering now and he knew it, anxiety cresting at how awkward this was. He hated phone calls, they were awkward no matter how well you knew the person, and if you didn’t know them they were just complete messes.

“Mhm. Sounds good. Um, I’ll see you then, I guess?”

“Heh, yep, bye!” 

“Goodbye.”

Lance hung up before Keith could, and Keith groaned loudly, smacking his face with one hand. “That was so fucking awkward, what the hell?” He rubbed one eye before eating more ramen. That was the worst phone call ever. He sincerely hoped it would be better when they spoke in person.

Keith dug back into his ramen, mind straying to whatever this date might be like. 

\--

Keith stepped out of his shower, shaking his hair out before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. The old fabric was scratchy, and he shifted for a moment before going over to the sink and staring at his reflection for a moment. 

His thick hair shone a dark glossy black, dripping onto his pale shoulders and sliding down his chest, over pronounced muscles and onto the towel. Keith wasn’t skinny like he had been when he was younger, and he hadn’t been for a long time, but sometimes the prominence of his abs still surprised him. 

The muscles had developed after hard work, but it was easy for Keith. It had been the perfect coping mechanism while he was stuck with Haggar. Constant workouts, climbing and running, and just getting on a yoga mat and exercising built his physique until he was not a skinny little boy who was easy to smack around.

Even after he’d left the hellhole that was that ‘home’, he had kept some of the habits as a basic and generally healthier way of life, editing it a bit so that it wasn’t too much and so that it gave him enough time for his job.

Keith ran his fingers through his hair and walked out of his bathroom and into his bedroom, standing in front of his dresser with hands crossed. What was he going to wear? Was this casual? Or formal? Lance would be coming from work, so it couldn’t be too formal.

Keith dug through his shirt drawer, pulling out a casual-looking maroon blazer and a black t-shirt. He put them on his bed before shrugging, deeming them acceptable. He grabbed a pair of black pants (he wasn’t sure what kind, but they weren’t sweats, jeans, or leggings, so they worked) and tossed them on the bed as well. 

He pulled on his clothes quickly, wanting to finish and get going. It was already 6:30, and on Red it would take Keith about 30 minutes, so he had to go quickly if he wanted to show up early. He put his hair in a ponytail at the base of his neck, feeling it drip slightly as it continued to dry.

Skipping steps, Keith made his way down the stairs quickly, making his way towards the front of his house. He put on his scuffed combat boots, then continued out the door and into his shared driveway, grabbing his helmet off of Red and sliding it on over his short ponytail.

The wind blew under his helmet as he drove, rapidly drying his hair and creating a pleasant rush of sound as he made his way to the park.

\--

Lance sat on a bench at the small park, leaning against the satisfyingly warm metal and playing some stupid number game as he waited for Keith to show up. The sun filtered through the leaves of the tree behind him, speckling Lance's skin with warm gold flecks.

Lance was dressed in a white sleeveless crop top and high waisted blue jeans that hugged his legs and hips tightly, showing off his long legs and petite waist. He wore his traditional sneakers and a small cloth choker that sat at the base of his long neck. 

He had makeup on, of course. It made Lance feel happier and more confident, and confidence was definitely important for something like this. He had on a gentle layer of lip gloss and pale gold eyeshadow. 

Footsteps sounded along the path in front of Lance, and he turned his head up to see Keith walking towards him, grinning widely as his boots thumped against the dirt. 

“Hello, mullet,” Lance smiles and greets the taller boy, who rolls his eyes exasperated. 

“Hi, Lance. Do we have a plan for where we’re going?” Keith stands in front of the bench that Lance is now standing up from, both wearing matching wide smiles as Lance put his hands on his hips.

“Indeed I do!” Lance grabbed Keith’s hand, pulling him further along on the path.

And so, their first date began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed!  
> Also, I have decided upon Keith's job with the help of a friend and I am distinctly excited about it.


	7. not an update, but important

Hi, guys.  
I'm here to apologize and to tell you all it's going to be another half week to a week before I update.  
I'm working on it, but I tore up some of my fingertips at the beach yesterday so it hurts to type to fast. I'm still working on this story, don't worry!  
I know my updates have been slowing down, but this is also a little harder for me to write because it's fluffy, so when I'm in weird funks (which happens frequently because of quarantine :/) I find it more difficult to write.  
Thank you so much for being patient and understanding!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aware Johnny Fox is dead, and if you weren't, he is. He was just a performer at the Renn Fest that I watched nearly every year and loved, so I'm going to use him in this fic. Anyways, if you enjoyed please leave kudos and/or a comment, thank you!  
> Word count: 1952


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